


pictures i'm evading

by Anonymous



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24524761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: By the end of the session, Inojin’s doodled new girl all over his notes.“Dude,” Shikadai says to him.Inojin turns beet red. “I don’t know.”
Relationships: Akimichi Chouchou & Nara Shikadai & Yamanaka Inojin, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Sarada/Yamanaka Inojin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43
Collections: Anonymous





	pictures i'm evading

**Author's Note:**

> this idea came to me in 2018, past me i hope i made you proud uwu title taken from eyes shut by years & years, hope you enjoy reading!
> 
> also theyre like 16~18 here fyi

“This is hopeless,” Inojin groans and lets his head hit his desk.

He lets his pencil roll out of his grasp and on to the floor, too depressed to care because it’s _hopeless_. Everything is _hopeless_.

“Dude, you’re embarrassing.” Shikadai rolls his eyes and plops the fallen pencil down on his desk.

“Thanks,” Inojin shoots back, voice dead.

Shikadai rolls his eyes again which is extremely rude. Inojin is going through an arduous period in his life and the _least_ Shikadai could do was be supportive.

Behind Inojin, Chocho snorts. “You’re really going to let art block kick your ass like this?”

“It’s been _weeks_ , Cho.”

“So?” Chocho shrugs. “You’ll get back into the swing of things eventually.”

Inojin groans again. He had zero supportive friends.

It’s been weeks since Inojin has drawn anything that actually satisfied him. His sketches were too messy, his colors were off, and don’t even get him started with how he’s been handling _anatomy_.

Shikadai had had to take the pencil away from him before he stabbed his own eyes out.

“We have a new student everyone!”

Chocho kicks his chair ( _ouch_ ) and Inojin forces his head up.

Standing beside Konohamaru-sensei is a girl.

She has short, jet black hair, sharp eyes behind red-rimmed glasses, and a look on her face that is somehow both blank and polite.

She’s pretty, Inojin thinks, in that subtle sort of way that he’s never seen before. It intrigues him.

Which is probably why his hand scrambles for pencil and paper before he’s even aware of it.

* * *

By the end of the session, Inojin’s doodled new girl _all over_ his notes.

“ _Dude_ ,” Shikadai says to him.

Inojin turns beet red. “ _I don’t know_.”

* * *

Inojin learns that her name is Sarada Uchiha.

“She introduced herself, man. How did you manage to miss that?” Shikadai asks him disinterestedly, munching on a fry.

“His brain probably stopped working after she walked into the room,” Chocho says, teasing, but dreamy as her eyes rove over his Sarada scribbles.

Honestly? She was probably right. Inojin doesn’t even _remember_ Sarada (the name suits her, he thinks, which is weird of him to think that because that is most definitely _not_ a normal thought to have about a new classmate) opening her mouth.

“I don’t know what came over me,” Inojin says bashfully as he hides his face in his hands.

“I mean, at least you got something good out of it?” Chocho hands him back his notebook. “Your art block’s probably gone now that you have a _muse_ ,” she says, smirking.

Shikadai snorts as Inojin feels his stomach drop.

This is exactly what he had feared.

Because Chocho is right. He can’t stop thinking about how perfect a subject Sarada Uchiha is. How satisfying it was to shade in her hair and sketch out the contours of her face. How distractingly deep her eyes seemed every time he looked at her for reference.

The worst part (which he really should consider the best part but _no_ ) is that he’s happy with all his drawings of her.

* * *

Sarada is participative in class.

In the one month it’s been since she’s transferred, she’s done a great job of establishing her reputation as a _freaking genius_ in almost every class in their year level.

Another thing she becomes known for is her _unnatural_ strength. She’s managed to accidentally break three desks already because of how hard she slams her hands on them when she answers questions.

Sarada also seems to start up a sort of rivalry with Boruto over their opposing personalities, yet, strangely enough, makes up a pretty solid friend group with him and Mitsuki.

She befriends Chocho too and his friend likes to rub it in his and Shikadai’s faces that she’s found a new best friend when, really, they’re just happy Cho finally has a girl friend to talk to about girl things because he and Shikadai are pretty sure they know _too much_.

He records all of these events by drawing them in his sketchbook, Sarada always being the main focus.

* * *

Excluding all the notes Inojin’s littered with Sarada doodles, he’s filled up about one and a half of his sketchbooks with solely her.

“You have a problem,” Shikadai tells him bluntly one day.

“I know,” Inojin replies because he really does.

* * *

“Dad, what does it mean if you’re inspired to keep drawing the same thing... or person?”

His father stops painting and turns to face him. Inojin does his best not to meet his eyes, but he’s pretty sure he’s blushing anyway.

“Why do you ask?” Sai questions him.

“Just curious.”

His father looked unconvinced.

“I’ve just been drawing... Chocho a lot,” he continues a little awkwardly.

Sai’s eyes widen. “Chocho? _Really_?”

“What’s that reaction supposed to mean?”

Sai shakes his head. “You’ve just been friends for so long... I never thought you’d feel anything romantic for-

“Wait, _what_?!” Inojin yells, face even redder. “ _Romantic_? What do you mean?”

His father cocks his head to the side. “It’s the only explanation I can think of. Why else would you be so inspired to draw her?”

“What if she’s just really easy to draw or something?”

“If you’ve been drawing a person often, I can only assume it’s because you hold strong feelings for them. Seeing as your subject was a girl for the first time,” Inojin opens his mouth to protest, “- _besides_ your mother, I made the logical conclusion that these feelings of yours were romantic.”

Inojin shakes his head vehemently. “They’re not! And, come on, dad! Are you telling me you’ve never drawn one subject over and over just for the fun of it?” He hates how he’s starting to sound desperate.

Sai looks at him blankly.

“Inojin the only time I’ve ever done that was when I first met your mother and look how that turned out.”

* * *

Inojin avoids talking to his father alone for the next few days and puts the thoughts stemming from their conversation in the deepest pits of his mind.

* * *

Not once have Inojin and Sarada ever spoken a word to each other.

Sure, they’ve both spoken up in class enough times for everyone to hear. And, yes, he’s heard her yelling at Boruto and Mitsuki on numerous occasions as much as he’s sure she’s heard him yelling at Chocho and Shikadai. It was hard not to in such a small room with only so much people.

But they’ve never directly spoken to each other.

Inojin doesn’t know what to feel about this, but there’s a pit in his stomach for a reason.

* * *

“ _Really_ not going to talk to her? I could probably put in a good word for you, y’know?” Chocho pouts.

“Please don’t do that,” he rejects the offer with only minimal reluctance.

Cho rolls her eyes.

“I swear you’re some kind of masochist. What kind of guy does everything _but_ talk to his crush?”

* * *

It’s not a crush, Inojin thinks to himself that night.

So what if he liked to draw Sarada (a _lot_ )? She was a great subject, who could blame him?

She didn’t move around unnecessarily in class. She was conveniently colored, that is to say Inojin always carried around the particular shade of red she chose to accessorize with that day and her hair was always satisfying to shade in. She always had a nice look in her eyes. Her smile was really pleasant to look at too. She was insanely smart. And kind from what he’s seen. And charming, definitely. She was also funny, dry wit being her weapon of choice like hi-

He stops this train of thought abruptly.

 _Nope_ , _nope_ , _nope_ , _nope_ , he chants in his head as he wills himself to sleep.

* * *

He and Sarada make eye contact for the first time the next day.

She’s yelling at Boruto about cheating on a test at the same time Inojin is yelling at Shikadai for ignoring his texts about their project. Nothing out of the ordinary for their class.

But something happens.

Sumire giggles amidst all the shouting. “Inojin, Sarada, you guys probably yell the most out of everyone here.”

Inojin freezes mid-shout and turns to look at the girl in horror.

(Why would she say that? Was it really true? Why is he oddly happy with this?)

But he locks eyes with Sarada instead.

She stops shouting too. Only for a fraction of a second as they stare at each other wordlessly.

In that moment, Inojin doesn’t know what to do. All he knows is that there’s suddenly a lot less air in his lungs and a lot more turmoil in his heart than he’s ever felt before.

He wonders how she feels about him.

Before anything concrete can happen though, Shikadai makes a break for the door and Inojin, ever the nagging friend, takes off after him.

He doesn’t turn back (although he wished he had), but he runs out of the classroom with an answer to his recent struggles.

* * *

“I have a crush on Sarada,” Inojin miserably groans at lunch.

His friends don’t even look at him.

“Took you long enough to realize it,” Shikadai says, nonchalant as he flips to the next page of his book.

Chocho burps in agreement.

Inojin really needed better friends.

* * *

"You two better behave." Ino glares them down.

Inojin and his father gulp before nodding in assent. His mother huffs, satisfied before the trio exit the car.

Group dinners were normal for the Yamanaka family. They ate with the Naras and Akimichis every other week. The difference between those and this particular dinner, however, was that apparently two other families were joining them tonight.

Inojin wasn’t really privy to the details, but he knew the Uzumakis were coming. He doesn’t have any problems with this because, one, he saw Boruto nearly every day anyway, and, two, any interaction with Himawari Uzumaki is always welcome.

Inojin barely knew anything about this other family though, except that this was _the_ Uncle Sasuke and _the_ Aunt Sakura he’d only ever spoken to through the phone a handful of times and their daughter.

His phone buzzes as his mom pushes open the doors of the restaurant.

[6:38PM] **Chocho Akimichi** : lmaoooo you’re screwed

[6:39PM] **Shikadai Nara** : she’s right good luck

His friends are weird, Inojin decides as he looks at the group chat, puzzled.

What the hell were they-

“Long time no see, Forehead!”

“Funny way of saying you missed me, Pig!”

He looks up and feels his stomach plummet at the sight of Sarada Uchiha sitting at their table.

* * *

Inojin learns a lot of things at this dinner.

First, Sarada looked very pretty in red dresses. Inojin’s hand is itching for a pencil and paper and he’s pretty sure he’s turned all shades of red by now.

Second, the Uchihas’ backstory (or a summary of it.) All their parents had apparently been close from preschool to college (which is _wow_ ), but as soon as they graduated Uncle Sasuke had to go overseas for his job. Aunt Sakura had followed and at one point there was a marriage and then at another, Sarada was born. They’d been moving around the country for years before Sasuke’s job finally assigned him a permanent post back in Konoha.

Third, his friends were jerks.

[7:19PM] **Chocho Akimichi** : this is your chance to talk to herrrr

[7:19PM] **Inojin Yamanaka** : In front of everyone’s parents?? Really??

[7:20PM] **Shikadai Nara** : i mean you cant talk to her at school bc ur a coward so why not here

[7:21PM] **Inojin Yamanaka** : No. I hate both of you. Leave me alone, I’m doing just fine talking to Hima.

He doesn’t even need to look at them to know they just rolled their eyes.

“Inojin!” Sakura suddenly calls out to him.

Inojin startles. Beside him, his father stifles his chuckles.

“Y-Yes, Aunt Sakura?” She looks a little tipsy, so Inojin figures he needs to tread lightly.

“I’ve heard from your parents and Sarada that you draw a lot. Have any samples you can show me? I want to see how your work matches up to Sai’s!” The woman says good-naturedly.

“He’s a freaking genius, for your information, Forehead!” His mother butts in, proud, yet drunk.

“Hey! I just wanted to see! Your genes could’ve corrupted him!”

“What did you say?!”

Inojin tunes this conversation out because his mind is too busy focusing on a single piece of information.

 _Sarada_ had told her mother about him drawing?

He turns to her, cheeks a bit flushed, but she isn’t looking at him, too busy chastising Boruto for being a slob. Something is off though because, if Inojin is seeing things properly, a light blush rests on her cheeks and, after having yelled at her friend enough, she seems to look at everyone but him.

 _Calm down_ , he thinks as he stares down into his lap. It didn’t mean anything did it? Everyone in class- heck, everyone in _school_ knew he was an artist. So what if Sarada had mentioned it to her mom at some point? It was probably nothing. Maybe Aunt Sakura had even just misremembe-

[7:26PM] **Chocho Akimichi** : i can hear you thinking from here yesss she watches you draw sometimes ok??

[7:26PM] **Chocho Akimichi** : not when you’re drawing her ofc that’s weird

[7:26PM] **Chocho Akimichi** : i’m surprised you never noticed

[7:27PM] **Inojin Yamanaka** : WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME

[7:27PM] **Chocho Akimichi** : ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

[7:27PM] **Shikadai Nara** : ur focusing on the wrong thing stupid. use this to talk to her

Shikadai and Chocho give him a _look_.

“Sarada,” Inojin finally has the courage to get her name out, praying to any and every god out there to help him _not_ screw this up.

The girl looks at him, curious. (A new expression for him to draw.) “Yeah?”

Inojin gives her a sheepish smile. “I should probably start paying more attention in class, huh?”

Oh god, what was he thinking? Was that even an appropriate response? Did he say it properly? Shoot, he should’ve never-

Sarada snorts before grinning at him. “I think that’d be for the best.”

It doesn’t seem like much. He’d simply asked a question after all. And she just answered. That was only proper decorum.

But her smile...

Inojin thinks his whole night has been made.

* * *

Inojin and Sarada interact a lot more after the dinner.

It starts off slow. Greetings in the hallway, shared looks when they reprimand their friends, sometimes a smile when they lock eyes long enough.

Then their interactions gain traction. They talk often now, have lunch together as their friend groups basically merge. They tease each other, gossip when something Chocho tells them actually interests them.

Inojin even shows her his sketchbooks (the ones that aren’t filled with her of course.) In turn, she sang for him because, yeah, who knew she had a really nice voice? He’s never been so thankful for having good hearing.

They have deep conversations sometimes too, in the rare moments they are alone (and Inojin’s heart is beating way _too fast_.) They trust each other with their secrets eventually.

Inojin tells her all of his, save for one.

* * *

He’s pretty sure he’s drawn her using every medium he knows of now.

“Still not going to do anything about it?” Shikadai asks him as he works on a watercolor painting of her.

Inojin doesn’t answer because he doesn’t what to say.

* * *

“Can I borrow a pencil?”

“Why do you always ask me?”

“Because you’re the only one I know who always has them on hand.”

* * *

“Sarada, keep your yelling to a minimum, Boruto’s brain could explode!”

“Look who’s talking. Are you sure Shikadai’s laziness isn’t because of _your_ nagging?”

“You’re both really lou- Sarada, that hurt!”

* * *

“Inojin, mom made me too much takoyaki today. Want some?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

“Eh, Sarada, you said your mom made you just enough though?”

“...I miscalculated.”

* * *

“Need help with homework? I left Boruto with Mitsuki.”

“ _Please_. Shikadai’s useless.”

* * *

“Why do you always hide that sketchbook when I try to peek?”

“...B-Because this is filled with ugly drawings.”

“I don’t think anything you make could ever be called ugly.”

“...That means a lot, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Just... if I find out you’ve been drawing _dirty_ -“

“I’m not!”

* * *

“I’m pretty sure she likes you back, you know,” Chocho tells him one day.

Inojin flushes. “ _Pretty sure_ isn’t good enough, Cho. Besides,” he rubs his head sheepishly, “what could she possibly see in me?”

Sarada is pretty. Sarada is smart. Sarada is funny. Sarada is kind. She’s strong. She’s determined. She’s caring. She’s thoughtful.

She’s... everything, really.

And Inojin? Well, he could draw.

Chocho gives him a look he can’t quite decipher.

“You’d be surprised and,” she scowls, “don’t you think this has gone on long enough? Confess to her, so you can be happy or move on and _then_ be happy. Trust me, it’d be for the best.”

Inojin knows she’s right, but he’s a coward, all the same.

* * *

He tries to put it off for as long as he can.

He ruins the perfect moments Cho and Shikadai set up for him. Avoids being alone with Sarada for too long. Tries not to hold a conversation with _only_ her when they’re with their friends. He’s being kind of a jerk, he knows, but he needs this time to prepare himself.

He’s heard rejection stings a lot after all.

But, just like the first time Inojin laid eyes on her, Sarada takes him by surprise.

He’s packing up his things slowly, sore from P.E. since, for some reason beyond him, Boruto and Mitsuki hated him today. Inojin lost count around the 11th time those jerks had hit him with a ball. So, yeah, he’s beat.

Which is probably why he doesn’t notice Sarada slink into the room and shut the door behind her.

“You’ve been weird around me lately,” she says, making her presence known.

He startles, and winces. Then his brain catches up with her words.

“W-What are you talking about?"

Sarada glares as she walks towards him. “Don’t play dumb. You’ve been distant.” The _with me_ is unspoken, but it rings in the air between them anyway.

“S-Sorry, I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.” The half-truth is the best he can offer her right now.

“Do you need any help with whatever it is?”

 _If only you knew_. “No, I don’t think so-“

“Why are you lying to me?”

Inojin feels a pit open up inside him.

“What?”

Sarada looks at him, hurt and frustrated. It kills him a little. “We’re supposed to be friends. Why are you icing me out? And lying about it? Don’t even deny it, I know you are. Tell me what’s going on. _Please_.”

He can tell she’s getting angry and that’s always terrifying since she’s _Sarada_ , but Inojin is stupid, so stupid that he hyper focuses on how she still looked _so_ pretty despite looking like she was ready to knock him out at any given moment.

Inojin knows he can’t get out of this. Not with her looking at him like that.

He sighs and accepts his fate.

Without a word, he rummages through his bag and grabs a sketchbook, except it’s not just a sketchbook, it’s _the_ sketchbook. The _damning_ one. Inojin feels his face heat up as he hands it to her.

“I’ve been weird about you since we met, Sarada. This is why.”

* * *

“Inojin, you’re going to be late!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Inojin takes a slice of toast from his mother’s waiting hand, stuffs it in his mouth, and struggles to tie his shoes at the door.

Ino rolls her eyes fondly at the sight. “Eat more when you get to school, okay? I made sure to pack you lots of food.”

Inojin swallows the bread down and kisses her on the cheek. “You’re the best. Ok, gotta go, love you! Bye!” He gets the words out quick as he bursts out the door.

Ino makes sure to be discreet as she watches him through the window, barely noticing Sai wander in the kitchen.

“Are you watching him go again?”

“Wait.”

As expected Inojin makes a right.

Which, normally, wasn’t that big a deal. Sure, school was towards the left, but anyone could make a mistake. Who cared if her son made a wrong turn? He did always have a poor sense of direction.

What makes this so notable is that the _only_ thing to the right of their neighborhood is the Uchiha residence.

Ino pouts. “I wish he’d just tell us already. It’s so _obvious_.”

Sai hugs her from behind. “He’ll come around. If it helps, I don’t think Sarada’s told her parents either.”

Ino snorts. “For sure. Forehead told me that when Inojin was over yesterday, she _accidentally_ took a peek at his sketchbook and guess what she saw?”

“A drawing of her daughter?”

“Even better! It was a drawing _by_ her daughter of Inojin, isn’t that cute?”

Sai chuckles. “It is. I hope they’re happy.”

Ino relaxes into his arms.

“I hope so too.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be under 3k words. things did not go as planned.


End file.
